Bay area high school students put their hospitality chops to the test at the 18th Annual ProStart Culinary Team Competition last month. And, considering they walked away with top awards from the statewide battle, the three teams repping the region — Tampa’s Leto High School, St. Petersburg’s Northeast High School and Tarpon Springs High School — are clearly awesome at what they do.
Hosted in Orlando by the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association Educational Foundation, the ProStart Culinary Team Competition named the trio overall winners out of 50 schools — with Tarpon Springs High placing second, Northeast fourth and Leto fifth.
Students also took home honors during four main events. There’s the Keiser University Edible Centerpiece Competition and Waiters Relay Competition, but the high-stakes Johnson & Wales University Culinary Competition and Art Institutes Management Competition advance their winners to the National ProStart Invitational in Providence, Rhode Island.
Here’s what went down: Tarpon Springs won the Edible Centerpiece Competition, while Northeast came in fourth. However, Northeast fared better in the Management Competition, where the team ranked No. 2 compared to fifth-place Tarpon Springs.
As for Leto, the team — whose members include Ocean Prime line cooks Edinson Mejia, Manuel Prado and Chyna Walker — secured the No. 1 spot in the Culinary Competition, which tasked them with preparing a creative meal of one starter, protein, starch, veggie and dessert.
The accomplishment marked Leto’s sixth consecutive first place title at the ProStart Culinary Team Competition, and it means local students (alongside the Management Competition’s victorious East Ridge High School of Clermont) get to showcase their talents on a larger stage. The three-day National ProStart Invitational kicks off Friday.
More than $1 million in scholarships went to the winning schools. Like the other competitors, they’re part of the Florida ProStart program, which teaches high school students an industry-driven curriculum of culinary techniques and restaurant management skills.
This article appears in Apr 26 – May 3, 2018.